LATHAM—Two Shaker High School students have advanced to the Poetry Out Loud state semifinal competition following their performances at the school’s 20th annual contest on Jan. 9.
Sana Khan was named the winner, with Abeesha Duaa as the runner-up. Both students will represent Shaker High School at the New York State Semifinal on Jan. 31 at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy.
The event, hosted by the Shaker English Council, featured eight participants: Abeesha Duaa, Anna Hopwood, Sakthi Jagannath, Pavithra Jayakumar, Sana Khan, Kallista Latina, Jacob Perea, and Helen Powell. Each student recited two memorized poems and was evaluated by judges Brittany Gonzalez, Katie Leach, and Siobhan Matrose from the English Department, along with Shaker alumna Kamellia Barrett.
Shaker High School has a long history with Poetry Out Loud, having been one of just six schools in New York State to participate when the program began two decades ago. Since then, the program has grown significantly, with more than 250 schools now participating statewide and over 17,000 across the United States.
Over the years, Shaker students have twice advanced to the National Finals, demonstrating the school’s dedication to the program and the art of spoken-word performance.
The Poetry Out Loud competition, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, encourages high school students to explore and perform poetry while developing public speaking and literary skills.